1991–92 NHL season
The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-two teams each played 80 games. The Pittsburgh Penguins repeated as Stanley Cup champions, winning a best of seven series 4–0 against the Chicago Blackhawks. League business As mentioned above, 1991-92 was the 75th anniversary season for the NHL. Accordingly, all players wore a patch on their uniforms depicting the NHL 75th anniversary logo (seen at above right) for this season. This was the first season for the San Jose Sharks, the first expansion team in the NHL since 1979. The birth of the Sharks returned NHL hockey to the San Francisco Bay Area after the California Golden Seals had relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1976. This was also the last season for John Ziegler as NHL President. He would be succeeded by Gil Stein, who held the position for one year before being replaced by Gary Bettman. New York Rangers defenceman Brian Leetch became the fifth, and last as of 2008, defenceman to score 100 points in a season. He finished the season with 102 points and captured the Norris Trophy. For the first time, the NHL finished play in the month of June. A primary reason for this is the 10-day NHL strike that started on April 1. The games that were supposed to be played during the strike, which was the first work-stoppage in NHL history, weren't canceled. They were rescheduled and made up when play resumed on April 12. Regular season Final standings ''Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against'' Wales Conference Campbell Conference Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average Playoffs ]] Note: All dates in 1992 * The 1992 playoffs saw history being made. For the first time ever, all four division winners (Detroit, Montreal, NY Rangers, Vancouver) were eliminated in the same round. In the division finals, Detroit was swept by Chicago in four straight. Montreal was also swept in four straight by Boston. The New York Rangers lost in six games to eventual champion Pittsburgh. And, Vancouver also lost in six games to Edmonton. *Of the eight division semifinal series, three of them would take place again the following year. Vancouver defeated Winnipeg four games to two. Buffalo swept Boston in four straight. And, St. Louis swept Chicago in four straight. Playoff bracket Finals The series was held between the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the Clarence Campbell Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Penguins won in four games, three out of four won by a one-goal margin. Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' MVP. NHL awards All-Star teams Throwback uniforms As part of the NHL's 75th anniversary celebration, and taking cues from Major League Baseball's "Turn Back The Clock" uniform program, throwback uniforms were worn by Original Six teams for select games, and throwbacks were also worn for the All-Star Game. The uniform styles that were worn include: * Boston Bruins - circa 1933 * Chicago Blackhawks—circa 1940 * Detroit Red Wings—circa 1928 * Montreal Canadiens—circa 1926 * New York Rangers—circa 1940 * Toronto Maple Leafs—circa 1940 * Wales All-Stars—white All-Star jersey circa 1952 * Campbell All-Stars—red All-Star jersey circa 1952 The throwback uniforms would have an impact on future seasons in the NHL, as several teams adopted throwbacks as alternate jerseys. The National Football League and National Basketball Association would follow the NHL's lead, with teams wearing throwbacks to celebrate their leagues' 75th and 50th anniversaries, respectively. Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1991–92 (listed with their first team): *Stu Barnes, Winnipeg Jets *Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils *Pavel Bure, Vancouver Canucks *Keith Carney, Buffalo Sabres *Adam Foote, Quebec Nordiques *Bill Guerin, New Jersey Devils *Derian Hatcher, Minnesota North Stars *Bret Hedican, St. Louis Blues *Arturs Irbe, San Jose Sharks *Joe Juneau, Boston Bruins *Vladimir Konstantinov, Detroit Red Wings *Vyacheslav Kozlov, Detroit Red Wings *Martin Lapointe, Detroit Red Wings *Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings *Glen Murray, Boston Bruins *Scott Niedermayer, New Jersey Devils *Felix Potvin, Toronto Maple Leafs *Darryl Sydor, Los Angeles Kings *Keith Tkachuk, Winnipeg Jets Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1991–92 (listed with their last team): *Barry Pederson, Boston Bruins *Rick Vaive, Buffalo Sabres *Tony Tanti, Buffalo Sabres *Clint Malarchuk, Buffalo Sabres *Greg Millen, Detroit Red Wings *Ilkka Sinisalo, Los Angeles Kings *Larry Robinson, Los Angeles Kings *Chris Nilan, Montreal Canadiens *Patrik Sundstrom, New Jersey Devils *Rick Green, New York Islanders *John Tonelli, Quebec Nordiques *Mark Pavelich, San Jose Sharks *Ken Linseman, Toronto Maple Leafs *Mike Bullard, Toronto Maple Leafs *Randy Gregg, Vancouver Canucks *Mike Liut, Washington Capitals *Mario Marois, Winnipeg Jets *Lucien DeBlois, Winnipeg Jets *Aaron Broten, Winnipeg Jets See also *List of Stanley Cup champions *1991 NHL Entry Draft *1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts *43rd National Hockey League All-Star Game *National Hockey League All-Star Game *NHL All-Rookie Team *Ice hockey at the 1992 Winter Olympics *1991 Canada Cup References *Hockey Database *NHL.com